Northern CA Saltwater

Half Moon Bay fills with people, crabbing was good

BY CAPT. DAVID BACON/WON Staff WriterPublished: Nov 21, 2017

Rockfish was great

HALF MOON BAY — Without an empty parking spot in Half Moon Bay, the harbor was full of people, partyboats were full and business was great. Crabbers came in with heavy hauls, while rockfish and lingcod fishing was excellent on the boats and combo trips meant very heavy sacks.

VERMILLION & LING — Capt. Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat
out of Pillar Point, left, hefts an 11-pound lingcod next to Eric Choy
of San Francisco who caught a pair of nice vermillion to 6 pounds during
a crab/rockcod combo trip.

Partyboats were full and the action was good for rockfish and lingcod with most trips either local or down the coast. Sherry Ingles at Half Moon Bay Sportfishing said, “The weather is gorgeous! I drove over a hill overlooking the ocean and I could see the details of the Farallones. There isn’t a single parking space in town, the Harbor is stuffed with people having fun, passenger counts are maxed out on the boats and life is fun!”

Queen of Hearts came in with 30 people who had caught 3/4-limits of rockfish, including vermillion to 7 pounds, big browns and other rockfish plus 27 lingcod to 19 pounds. Michael Qin got the big ling off of Pescador. Riptide did similarly and passengers came off the boat smiling after 16 came off the boat with 158 rockfish, 2 cabezon and 13 lingcod to 18 pounds.

Huli Cat ran combo trips off of Pillar Point. Ivan Fujinaki caught a nice lingcod on a shrimpfly and Jack Thrust caught one that was hitchhiking on a small rockfish. The crabbing was excellent, with one pot holding 24 crabs. The total on a weekend trip was limits of rockfish and crabs for 27 people. On a weekend trip with Southside Anglers fishing club, Gary Kinoshita got a 12-pound lingcod and Ray Garcia caught 2 cabezon to 7 pounds. On Sunday, Alex Flores pulled up an 18 pounder caught on a jacksmelt.

Crab counts from Pacifica Pier were overall pretty good, but not everyone was successful, Marque Glisson at New Coastside Bait Tackle said, “Quite a few crabs available on the Pacific Pier, however 200 crabs in a day divided by 500 people on the pier and you’ll hear stories like, ‘There are no crab.’ But if there are 200 a day and 500 people that’s a crab for every 2.5 people.”

LEE’S LING — Ron Lee of San Francisco was using a bar when he
hooked and landed this 12-pound lingcod aboard the Huli Cat out of
Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay during a rockcod/crab combo trip.

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